Proof: Comfort
by bellakitse
Summary: Mark is there for Maddy in the aftermath of events in 'Proof'. Spoilers for Proof.


Title: Proof: Comfort  
>Category: Terra Nova<br>Ship: Maddy/ Mark  
>Genre: ComfortRomance  
>Rating: PG<br>Word Count: 1700  
>Spoiler: 'Proof'<br>Summary: Mark is there for Maddy in the aftermath of events in 'Proof'.  
>Author Note: I loved Maddy's storyline in this episode, we got more about her outside her romance, we got her and Zoe which is great, but my shippy heart missed Mark and I thought that if he couldn't save her, he should at least be there for her after. So this is a tag to the episode. This got written at 3 in the morning in a trance, it might read as such and its un-beta'd.<p>

… … …

Maddy Shannon leaned back against the hammock the light breeze played with her wet hair tickling her skin; she stared up at the blue sky and the big fluffy clouds that moved lazily across it. It was really a beautiful afternoon, too beautiful for one where she was almost murdered. She wills down the hysterical need to cry at the thought. Her mother is inside the house but she can feel her eyes on her as she looks out the window every few minutes making sure she is still there, still safe. Her poor mother feels guilty enough about what almost happened without her adding to her burden. Especially with the bomb her brother dropped on their parents earlier, they have more than enough to deal with without her breaking down just because everything that has happened is starting to catch up with her. Although when she's in a better frame of mind she's really going to have to talk to Josh about his recent activities, she cares about Kara too but lengths he is going to are more than just dangerous they were simply idiotic.

"Maddy…" a concerned and familiar voice thankfully breaks the worrisome and churning thoughts of her brush with death or her brother's reckless moves. She looks up to find Mark Reynolds peering down at her a troubled frown on his handsome face, she takes in the rest of him, in his military uniform, his protective armor still on, his face smudged with dirt and sweat, she knows he's been OTG for the better part of the last two days, but just looking into his remorseful blue eyes tells her he already knows what happened. Small colony she supposes.

"I'm okay." The words leave her mouth like a reflex; she's gotten so use to saying it over the years. When she would come home with tear stained cheeks from all the teasing at school, when Josh in his tempers lashed out with biting comments, when days turned into months and then years passed without her father, she always answered the same, a smile in place and a 'okay' passing her lips. She watches as he gives her a disbelieving look and an almost annoyed snort leaves his mouth. He sees right through her and she wonders how after knowing her for such a short time he seems to know her better than anyone else. She doesn't say anything else and just quietly watches as he discards his armor and his weapon placing it all on the ground, she moves slightly as he straddles the hammock, sitting down with his legs on either side, his weight causing her to lean towards him. He doesn't say anything simply looks at her with warm eyes, waiting her out.

"Who told you?" She asks because she feels it's the safest question and it stalls the conversation she_knows_they are going to have.

"Lt. Washington," He answers. "Everyone is talking about it, but she got to me as soon as I made it back to the gates."

"How was your OTG?" She asks mindlessly knowing it's a ridiculous question but unable to stop herself.

Mark shakes his head, aggravated. "_Yeah_that's what we're going to talk about, my work at an outpost."

Maddy gives him a bitter smile she knows doesn't look right on her face by his expression.

"What would you like to talk about Mark, about me thinking I was meeting and working for a man that I have idolized forever, only to find out that it wasn't really him but his murderer who in turn tried to kill me too to keep his secret? Is that what we should talk about?" She starts to prattle her breath catching, her eyes turning glassy as she looked at him, his frown deepening with her words, she tries to reel it in, but the stress and fear of the day is rising to the surface faster then she can stop it and she can feel her breaking point being reached. She's not strong enough to push him away when he tugs her towards him; instead she clings to his shirt as his arms; warm from his body heat and being in the sun all day hold her tight. It's enough, feeling him next to her, around her, his heartbeat pounding against her ear, it enough and as the floodgates open, she sobs quietly as he hums her name against her hair.

She needs this, she realizes with surprising clarity in a moment where nothing should be. She needs someone she doesn't have to be '_put on a brave fac_e' Maddy with. It can't be her family, as much as they love her, they're use to her being the one with the smile and optimistic '_anything is possible_' outlook she has on life. With Mark she can be this; this emotional wreck that needs to be held while she cries.

It's that thought, the knowledge that she _does_have that now that she has him, that actually calms her down, her breathing which had become erratic starts to regulate as the tears slowly come to a stop.

She must look a blotchy red mess as she looks up at him but Mark doesn't mention it, he just brushes away the remains of her tears off her cheeks and continues to wait for her. She lets out a calming breath as she pulls out two little pieces of charred paper and hands them to him; you can't really tell what was on them except for the larger piece that is big enough to have her first name written out. Mark takes them from her, studying them but she knows he doesn't understand.

"It was a letter," She starts, her voice rough from her crying. "It was a letter from Ken Horton, the real Ken Horton. I sent him a fan letter years ago." She says letting out a self-conscious chuckle. "Like the true science geek I am, I was fascinated by him and everything he had discovered, accomplished, so I wrote to him gushing about his theories and projects and he wrote back to me, I've held on to that letter ever since. He…that man pretending to be him burned it, trying to get rid of the proof that he wasn't who he said he was…I-I loved that letter." She finishes quietly leaning closer to him.

"I'm sorry Maddy," Mark says just as softly, brushing her hair back to get a better look at her, his eyes are back to regretful which she doesn't completely understand. "I should have been here…I should have protected you like I promised."

As his words sink in, the remorse in his expression along with the pain in his words make sense leaving her with battling emotions of gratitude and heartbreak, because he blames himself for what happened to her, she gets that now as she looks at him, but it warms her that he's so determine to be her protector.

"This wasn't your fault Mark, you can't blame yourself for not being here cause you have a duty to do," She says cautiously, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "And that's not a promise you might be able to keep, things happen and you can't be with me at all times to keep them from happening to me."

"But I want to be." He answers desperately his hands cupping her cheeks as he presses his forehead against hers and her heart skips at his conviction. "I want to keep you safe and with me, it kills me that this happened to you and I wasn't there to help you, to stop it. I think about what could have happened if your father hadn't gotten there in time Maddy and-"

She cuts him off, her mouth brushing against the corner of his. "I'm okay Mark, and this time I mean the words, I'm still shaken up, but I'm okay."

He kisses her this time and unlike their first kiss, it isn't tentative. This kiss is strong in confidence and desperate on both their parts, both of them reassuring themselves that she's still there as lips part and sink into each other in wet heat. Heat that's spreading all over her with this new experience, she welcomes it. Not just because it's Mark and the sensations he creates as his hands get lost in her hair pulling her forward until she's resting chest to chest against him as he leans back into the hammock leaves her breathless and wanting more, but because they seem to be wiping all the ugliness of the day away one touch of his lips at a time.

He breaks the kiss causing her to sigh, she doesn't want to end it but the rational part of her brain is still working and it realizes that they are outside where anyone can see them, they're next to her house where her mother or worse her father can see them and the day has been dramatic enough without her father shooting Mark or having a heart attack. It's also too soon in their relationship to be crossing over to certain areas although that kiss tells her that when they do, she's going to enjoy it immensely.

"I'm sorry," He murmurs into her hair as she once again rests her head against his chest, this time with him still leaning back, she brings her legs into the hammock and shift a bit until she is laying half on him, half next to him, her arm circling his waist. If her father sees them, he's going to have something to say about the intimate picture they pose, but right now she's too comfortable in Mark's arms to care. "I should be comforting you after the day you're had and in the end you are reassuring me."

She reaches up cupping his jaw forcing him to look down at her. "You are comforting me, right now, holding me, kissing me that was comfort, but we'll agree that from now on we'll comfort each other, okay?"

Mark smiles down at her, tipping her chin up to kiss her forehead, the arm around her shoulder pulling her even closer. "Okay."


End file.
